Knee Pad with Passageway Structure for Resilience and Breathability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foam knee pads lose resilience over time, reducing their effectiveness in cushioning the knee and providing comfort due to permanent compression, and they are not breathable, leading to discomfort during prolonged kneeling.
Innovation Solution
A cushioning pad made from solid material with orderly arranged passageways that flex instead of compress, allowing air circulation and maintaining resilience, featuring a sheet member for additional rigidity and breathability, and a design that fits the knee for comfort and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If foam material is used for knee pad cushioning, then initial cushioning comfort is provided, but the pad loses resilience over time due to permanent compression
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by incorporating an array of passageways through the solid cushioning material. These passageways allow the material to flex and recover rather than compress permanently, maintaining cushioning resilience over time. The porous structure enables air circulation that prevents moisture buildup while preserving the material's elastic properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining solid cushioning material with integrated passageway structures. This composite design creates a material that exhibits both structural integrity and elastic recovery, preventing the permanent compression that occurs in solid foam while maintaining initial cushioning comfort.
2Strength
If solid foam material is used for knee pad, then cushioning is provided, but breathability is reduced leading to discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by incorporating an array of passageways through the solid cushioning material. These passageways allow air circulation that prevents moisture buildup and heat accumulation, significantly improving breathability while the solid material surrounding the passageways maintains the cushioning capability.
3Strength
If foam pad is made thicker to improve cushioning, then comfort is improved, but bulkiness increases and freedom of movement is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials with an optimized array of passageways that enable effective cushioning at reduced thickness. The passageway structure distributes and disperses applied loads more efficiently than solid foam, allowing the pad to maintain comfort while being thinner and less bulky, thereby improving freedom of movement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The pad provides improved compressive resilience and breathability, maintaining comfort and reducing the likelihood of slipping, while allowing greater freedom of movement and minimizing bulkiness, thus addressing the limitations of foam pads.
Implementation Method 1
the passageways allow air to circulate next to the knee
Implementation Method 2
air to circulate next to the knee
Implementation Method 3
it provides cushioning by flexing of the structure rather than by compression. The pad therefore shows improved compressive resilience over time
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a knee pad and a knee pad assembly. A pad for cushioning the knee when kneeling on a surface comprises structure defining longitudinal first passageways with their longitudinal axes arranged to be positioned, in use, so that they intersect with the surface being knelt on.